Baby Isaiah dies in Edmonton hospital
Written by on March 11th, 2010 in Latest News.
Isaiah May, seen in this file photo with his mother Rebecka, was on life support since being transferred to the Stollery Children’s Hospital shortly after his birth in October.
(Facebook)
Isaiah May, the brain-hurt Alberta infant who had been in intensive care since his birth in October, died in his parents’ arms just after he was taken off life support shortly after noon Thursday at Edmonton’s Stollery Children’s Hospital.
The announcement was made by lawyer Rosanna Saccomani, who read a prepared statement from Isaac and Rebecka May, who did not attend the news conference.
“All along it was our hope that Isaiah’s condition would brighten and improve. It has not,” the statement said. “The choice that has now been made may be incomprehensible but has been made knowing we have done everything possible to find meaningful answers to our questions and that all reasonable alternatives were fully explored and carefully considered.”
“Isaiah has been a blessing to us and his spirit will always be in our hearts. We will never forget the miracle of his birth, the Christmas that we spent together and the early spring day when we said our goodbyes … we have set our tiny miracle free and he is now home in the arms of angels.”
The news conference came just hours after Alberta Health Services announced that a court hearing on Isaiah’s condition scheduled for 9 a.m. MT would not proceed.
The court was expecting to receive a report from Victoria pediatric specialist Dr. Richard Taylor, who travelled to Edmonton last month to assess the infant’s condition.
In a statement, Alberta Health Services offered its condolences to the family.
“All Alberta Health Services’ physicians and staff who have been involved in caring for Baby Isaiah were touched by the May family’s strength. Our deepest sympathies go out to the family,” the release said.
Isaiah May suffered severe brain hurt after being deprived of oxygen during a long, medically complicated delivery last October in Rocky Mountain House, Alta., about 230 kilometres southwest of Edmonton.
Doctors at the Stollery hospital had wanted to take him off a ventilator in January, believing there was no hope for recovery, but the Mays went to court to get a reprieve and have a medical expert assess their son.
